Past, Present, & Future
by AB24
Summary: Post day 6, Chloe helps Jack pick up the pieces of his shattered life. No spoilers, just the way I'd like to see things turn out.
1. Chapter 1

chapter one 

"Go home, Chloe," Jack whispered to the woman who was sleeping lightly on his couch. It was midnight, and she'd been there since early in the morning.

She awoke at the sound of his voice and immediately turned her face away. "I'm not going anywhere," she replied as he sat beside her.

"Chloe..."

"I'm not leaving, okay? Don't fight me on this," she replied.

"Chloe, I know you're trying to help me, and you know that I am grateful for everything you've done for me these last few weeks, but - "

"But nothing, Jack. Go to bed. I'll be here on the couch if you need me," she interrupted, pulling her coat over her head like a blanket so as to ignore him.

He sighed and gave up, leaving her to sleep on his couch for the seventh straight day. She watched him walk away, wishing that one of these nights he'd insist she leave the uncomfortable couch for his bed. Then she silently scolded herself for thinking such a shallow thought during his time of need.

Her role as helper in his time of need had begun a month earlier, when he was released from one chaos in China only to be placed in another. The last remaining threads of his life had unraveled that day, but when the day finally gave in to the next, he turned to find that Chloe was still there. Somehow, she was still there.

It was unspoken but known by both that they needed one another to survive the new normal forced upon their lives. They simply had no one else but each other.

Jack lay awake in bed and recalled how Chloe had taken him from CTU to her apartment that first night. He remembered walking inside and sitting down only to fall asleep within seconds. She had then gently nudged him awake before guiding him to her bedroom, where he slept as she took to her couch.

He both loved and detested every moment she spent taking care of him. He needed her, but he hated being a burden to her with every fiber of his being. Three weeks later, with his savings that Kim had received when he was in China but never touched just in case he ever returned, he rented out an apartment of his own.

He smiled scoffingly at the thought that his own apartment would increase his independence. Chloe helped him move, helped furnish the place, brought meals every day, drove him to his now-numerous doctor appointments, even did his laundry. She rationalized to him that her sleeping there was necessary, because "what if you had one of your nightmares and no one was there to wake you up?".

Nightmares, though they plagued him often and were treacherous when they did, wouldn't be a problem tonight, he thought to himself. He'd only been in bed for 10 minutes and he knew he couldn't sleep. Tomorrow a decision would be made as too whether he would be officially reinstated to limited duty at CTU - something he wasn't even sure he wanted. Anticipation left sleep out of the question.

Drifting out of his small bedroom, he was on his way to the kitchen but stopped at a doorway to check in on Chloe. She was sleeping peacefully, though uncomfortably, he was sure. Watching her sleep from his safe distance, Jack couldn't help but wonder just what kept her in his life. He had been through many hells in the last few years, to be sure, but she was always there to catch him, and she always gave him her all, no matter what.

Something in her had changed, though, and he couldn't figure out what it was. He had been gone for a long time, to be sure, and he wondered often what happened during that time. He knew about Morris, obviously (though she never told him that he was the reason why Morris left her), but she didn't let him in any further. And though she was still the same essential Chloe he had always known, she now possessed a silent, resolute strength that was new to him. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to ask. He knew that, like himself, Chloe kept things to herself for good reasons.

Jack retrieved a blanket from his room and returned to cover her with it. He smiled slightly as he gently wrapped the blanket around her, wondering what the hell possessed her to want to be there. In moments like those he was honest with himself and could admit how much he needed her there with him. When he was alone, he couldn't stop his mind from flashing back and returning him to the place he had physically been saved from but mentally was still a prisoner of. To not feel alone was the greatest comfort he had to hold on to, and she was the only one willing to provide it at all hours of the day.

Forgetting whatever it was he wanted from the kitchen, he turned and headed back to his room, hoping this sleep thing would work this time.


	2. Chapter 2

ppp chapter two

Chloe turned her head from her computer to see Jack leaving Bill's office, dressed in a suit she'd bought him the day before. She tried to read his face, but there was nothing to read.

"Jack?" she called, but he passed her station without a word, apparently heading out the door. She instinctively rose and followed him, ignoring Milo's repeated calling after her.

Chloe found Jack standing just outside the building, leaning against a wall and breathing heavily. She rushed to his side, asking in a panicked tone, "My God, Jack, are you okay?"

He opened his eyes and tried to brush her off. "I'm fine," he replied, still panting a bit.

"No, you're not," she scowled. "What happened in there?"

He paused, trying to get ahold of himself. "He wants to reinstate me."

"That's good," she replied. "Isn't it?"

He shook his head and muttered, "I don't know. I don't know what I want." He then turned against the wall and slammed it with an open hand. "I don't know..."

Hearing his voice begin to shake, she closed the distance between them and placed a hand on his right shoulder. "It's okay, Jack. You don't have to know what you want. No one's rushing you into this."

He placed his left hand on hers and held it there against his shoulder, leaning his forehead against the wall. He didn't know why he had snapped, and it only reminded him of how he was a different man than he was 2 years ago. He hated being weak. All he wanted to do was forget his traumas and live his life again, like nothing had changed, but his mind would not grant him such a luxury. Grief and vivid memories presented themselves in the form of nightmares, panic attacks, and moments where he was sure that he would be stuck in this vicious cycle forever. The reality of reentering the world that had caused all of this proved more than he was ready for.

He finally turned and offered Chloe a smile meant to reassure her, though no one was buying it. "Go back to work," he nudged. "I'm fine. I'm just going to take a walk."

Her scowl deepened. "Jack, you've got to be kidding me."

"No, I...I think I might need to be alone right now."

"Well, I don't," she replied.

"Chloe, please," he half-pleaded.

"Jack, at least go home if you have to leave, but don't make me worry more than I already do," she nearly begged, surprising him.

"There's somewhere I need to go, Chloe," he replied. "Don't worry about me."

"Right," she sighed. "Just go home as soon as you can."

He nodded, amused by this new over protectiveness of hers, before she sullenly walked away. He then began a long walk to somewhere he hadn't been in years.

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"Chloe," Bill called, approaching her from across the floor, "Where's Jack? Is he alright?"

"No, I think he had a panic attack," she replied quietly. "He went for a walk. Mr. Buchanan, I don't think he'll be ready for this for awhile."

"I was going to keep him behind a desk," he replied.

"Yeah, but that's not what I mean. It's this place, the atmosphere, the memories. I've been staying with him for a month now, and I watch him struggle every day to try to get used to life again. This is too much too fast."

Bill nodded, realizing the hastiness with which he'd approached the matter. But a certain curiosity prompted his next question. "He's still living in your apartment?"

"No, he just got his own. I've been staying there," she muttered, knowing how peculiar the arrangement might seem to others.

"I thought Kim was going to move him into her house," he said.

"Yeah, well, he refused. He said he doesn't want to be a burden to her."

He nodded once again. "I'm glad you're staying with him. It says a lot about his feelings for you that he's letting you help him."

She froze. Did he just use the term "his feelings for you"? That's weird, she thought to herself as he gave her shoulder an approving pat before walking away. Then again, what wasn't weird anymore.

While she continued to stand there idly processing the last few moments, Milo decided to approach her and satisfy his own curiosity. "Hey, Chloe," he said from behind, prompting her to turn and hope he had something relevant to say.

"Yeah," she muttered, heading to her station as he followed.

"Is Jack okay? Everyone's wondering what all that was about."

She turned her head just enough to shoot him a glare. "Here's what you can tell everyone: No, Jack isn't fine. Why isn't he fine? Because he was tortured almost daily, at least weekly, for nearly two years, only to return to watch one of his best friends and the woman he loved die, both right in front of him. Would you be 'okay'?"

Milo sighed. "Look, I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, I know," she scowled before he gave up and walked away. 


	3. Chapter 3

chapter three

Her shift over, Chloe drove into the modest parking area of the place where she would find Jack, who was still on his "walk".

Chloe knew she'd find him here. It was the first place she thought to look. But now she didn't want to disturb him, fearing he would resent her intruding on this private moment.

A tear or two rolled down his cheek as Jack knelt down before Teri's grave. It seemed like it had been an eternity since he'd lost her, but the pain had never lost its edge. He wondered how he could move on from Audrey when all of these years later, it still sometimes felt as if pieces of his heart were still buried with Teri.

He turned at the sound of footsteps behind him, not quite surprised to see Chloe standing there. "Chloe," he muttered, sniffing back the rest of his tears.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding, Jack," she replied cautiously. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

He nodded, turning his head away from her. "I'm fine. How did you find me?"

She walked forward and knelt down beside him. "I used to live around here when you first hired me. I saw you here a lot when I'd drive by on my way to CTU. It was the first place I thought of," she paused. "I also traced your cell phone signal."

He smirked ever so slightly, helping to quell her anxiety. Maybe he was glad she was there, she briefly hoped.

Chloe looked at the headstone, a bit intimidated by Teri's memory. She was a mythical figure at CTU, a tragic story that lived on among employees, most of whom had never known her. Jack rarely spoke of her, and in fact never had spoken once of her to Chloe.

"You'd think," he began weakly, "that after everything that's happened since she died, it wouldn't hurt as bad. It should be buried in my mind, but..."

She listened intently, studying his face.

"...I know it's naive, but sometimes I think that if she were still here, everything would be different. All of this would have never happened. I'd be living a normal life," he smiled, the absurdity of those word "normal". "And the worst part is, I have myself to blame."

He turned and looked at Chloe, his eyes shimmering. "And then Audrey...How many times," he managed before his voice failed him.

"Jack, you have to stop blaming yourself," she urged him, taking his right hand in her left. "You have got to learn how to stop torturing yourself like this."

He shook his head. "I just don't know why I'm still here when everyone's gone."

"The same reason why I am," she replied eloquently.

He fell silent, welcoming her turn to speak as he locked his eyes into hers.

"And I have you to thank for that," she continued. "You know that."

He shook his head. "I don't understand why you do all you do for me, Chloe, I don't. If I were you, I would have stopped caring a long time ago."

She shrugged. "Well, that's why you're not me."

He looked down before restating his question. "I'm serious, Chloe. Why?"

There was no way in hell she was going to answer that question honestly, so she uncomfortably fumbled through different responses in her head while he waited for her answer. "I guess because you'd do the same for me," she replied. "It's not like I'm doing that much anyway."

A cool breeze blew a shift back into reality through both, leading Chloe to awkwardly pull her hand away from his and glance at her watch. "Are you ready to go home?" she asked.

He nodded, then rose to follow her to the car. He kept his eyes on Chloe as she led him to the parking area, realizing that no one since Teri, not even his daughter, had been as constantly present & reliable in his life as Chloe. He never truly appreciated or understood her loyalty. Not only was she there when he needed her, she was there when he didn't.

His mind was a tangle of thoughts and long-repressed memories as she drove them home. Both were lost in their own minds, as they so often were, but Chloe's concern for him got the best of her and she soon broke their silence.

"I talked to Buchanan after you left, and...I told him that I didn't think you were ready to be reinstated."

He looked down to his hands. "That's fine."

She glanced over at him, bearing a slightly pained look. "Jack, I really think you should think about therapy."

His eyes rolled a bit as his neck shifted towards the window. "Chloe..."

"I know you don't want to go, but..."

"Chloe, tell me the name of one therapist who could even begin to understand the half of what I've seen in the last two years alone, and I'll be glad to go," he replied somewhat angrily. "But you can't, because that person doesn't exist."

She sighed, coming up short of an argument.

He took a breath and lowered his tone. "Listen, I know you're trying to help, but I have to deal with this in my own way."

"I know," she replied, his usually charming stubbornness now threatening to truly hurt him. "I just worry about you, Jack, and I think it could really help you."

"I'm fine," he replied, not even trying to be convincing.

Chloe fell silent, knowing full well he was far from fine. She was sick & tired of watching him continuously do everything the hard way, but she also knew there was no stopping him. Still, it strengthened her resolve to do everything in her power to help him - as if she wasn't already. 


	4. Chapter 4

chapter four

Chloe was in Jack's small kitchen later on that day heating up a TV dinner when a knock at his door made both of them jump, Jack a little more so.

"Relax, I'll get it," she told him, motioning for him to stay seated on the couch. She hated the almost paranoid look on his face.

She looked through the door's peephole and couldn't believe who was waiting for her to answer. Angrily, she swung open the door and immediately started in. "Morris, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Is that really any way to greet me, darling?" he said, slurring a bit as he tried to get a look inside.

She scowled and pushed him farther into the hallway, closing the door behind her. "Why are you here? Why would you show up to Jack's apartment drunk?"

"I followed you here, that's why," he replied nonchalantly.

"You drove here, that's great," she rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Morris?"

"I wanted to see how things are going with you and your beloved Jack," he continued, "seeing as now you're now practically living with him."

"Morris, there is no 'me & Jack'," she replied. "You know that. Do you even remember who broke up with who? You broke up with me, Morris. You have no right to come here like this."

"I would beg to differ," Morris started to reply before being interrupted by Jack's opening the door.

"What's going on out here?" Jack asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Chloe replied, "Morris just decided to show up drunk and bother me, that's all."

Jack glanced over at Morris, who quickly seized the opportunity at hand. "Jack, good to see you, mate. I'm glad you've gotten to enjoy Chloe's company so much lately. I'm not surprised in the least, I saw it coming a mile away," Morris babbled, ignoring the tortured look on Chloe's face. "In fact, did she ever tell you why we broke up? You were the reason, Jack."

"Ignore him, he's just trying to get to you," she advised to Jack, who was actually listening to Morris, to her horror.

Morris then turned his bloodshot eyes to Chloe. "If I were you, love, I'd watch my back - Jack's women tend to turn up dead."

"Son of a bitch," Jack growled before snapping like a twig and lunging at Morris, taking him into a choke hold before slamming him against the wall of the hallway. "Jack, don't!" Chloe squealed to no avail.

"That was a mistake," he seethed, continuing to squeeze while Morris tried not to suffocate.

Chloe then rushed and stood just to Jack's right, putting her left hand on Jack's shoulder and her right hand on his straining wrists. "Jack, let him go," she said simply and quietly.

Jack looked away from Morris' reddening face to Chloe's and slowly felt his sense return. His arms soon fell to his side,and Morris coughed painfully as Jack walked back into the apartment and closed the door.

Chloe stood idly for a moment before pulling out her cell phone. "I would apologize for Jack, but you deserved it," she muttered as she dialed a cab service. Morris held his throbbing neck and suddenly felt very sober.

"I don't have the slightest clue as to what you see in him," Morris muttered between deep breaths.

"You don't have the slightest clue to a lot of things, Morris," she replied in her usual snarky tone. She hoped Jack wouldn't take Morris' words seriously, but a part of her knew he would. He blamed himself enough as it was - she hated that he had to hear the words come out of somebody else's mouth, Morris' of all people.

---------------------------------------------------

When Morris was safely in the care of a yellow cab, Chloe headed back inside the apartment without knowing quite what to expect. It was true, Morris did leave her over Jack, and Jack was the last person she wanted to find out. No matter how deeply she felt for him, she was convinced he would never return her feelings. She tried to satisfy herself with their friendship, but it wasn't easy. She had decided a long time ago that she would strenously avoid anything that could jeopardize her feelings' secret status, especially around Jack, something Morris appeared to have shot to hell.

Closing the door behind her, Chloe entered to find Jack sitting silently on the couch, leaning on his knees with his elbows and staring at his feet.

"I'm sorry about Morris," she sighed, walking towards him as he failed to react to her presence. "He's just going through a lot of stuff right now, and he doesn't know who else to take it out on."

She took a seat next to him, prompting him to finally raise his head to her. His eyes locked with hers, and something so painfully obvious finally became crystal clear in Jack's mind. Maybe it took the actual words coming out of someone else's mouth for it to register in his mind. He knew why Chloe was there. He knew why she had been for so long. And most surprising of all, it felt right to him. It made sense.

"It's okay," he smiled.

And maybe it was okay. Maybe what he had been looking for for so long had been sitting in front of him all along. And maybe he was a complete & utter dolt for not seeing it sooner.

He offered her right shoulder an affectionate pat before saying goodnight and heading off to bed. Chloe felt relieved, though a bit confused as to what just happened. But no matter - she wouldn't question what appeared to be a good thing.

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After Jack drifted off to sleep, a nightmare came to visit him.

Audrey, bleeding from the gunshot in her head that had killed her, sat alone in a dark room on a cold floor as she wept tears that mixed with blood on her cheeks. "Why did you do this to me, Jack? Why did you let me die?" she asked.

Teri soon joined her, asking the same question. Many followed, joining the crude scene. Finally, a similarly blood-soaked Chloe appeared, telling him, "You killed me, too. You let me die."

He awoke in a cold sweat, his breathing labored, just as he always did following one of these nightmares. But no dream had been this graphic, this real. Sitting up in bed, tears fought their way out of his eyes as he failed to calm down. He couldn't do this again. He wouldn't do this again. He was done hurting the people he cared for.

So he rose out of bed, knowing exactly what he had to do. 


	5. Chapter 5

chapter five

On autopilot, Jack tore through his apartment like a storm, snatching up everything of Chloe's he could find. He wouldn't stop to think, or to notice how late it was.

Nor did he seem to care that Chloe was sound asleep on the couch when he burst in the room and bellowed, "Chloe, get up."

The newly turned on light combined with his booming voice made for one heck of a wake up call. Automatically assuming something must be horribly wrong, she immediately popped up and searched his face for a clue as to what the heck it was. "What is it, Jack?"

"You have to leave," he replied matter of factly, handed her a small pile of her belongings.

"What? Why?" she demanded, taking the pile reluctantly.

"Because I said so, Chloe, now get out," he replied, opening the door for her to leave.

"Jack, I am not leaving this couch until you tell me what's going on," she replied firmly.

Leaving the door open, he walked to her and said as calmly as he could, "It's for your own good, Chloe, please."

She stood up and tried to look him in the eye. "If this is about what Morris said, it's not true, I swear."

Noting what a bad liar she was, he simply ignored it. "Go."

She watched him turn his back to her, confused beyond belief. But one thing she knew for sure: she wasn't going anywhere. "No."

He turned quickly and began to shout. "Did you hear me?" he yelled, grabbing her clothes out of her clutch and taking them to the door, where he threw them into the hall. "Get out!"

"No," she countered, her voice rising to match his. "This doesn't make any sense!"

She braced herself as he came charging at her, not knowing what to expect. He grabbed her shoulders and said in a growlish tone, "Chloe, do not force me to make you leave, because I will."

Chloe looked in his eyes and saw that they deceived him. She knew him far too well to not catch on. "Jack, I am not going to let you 'protect' me," she replied shockingly calmly. He realized he couldn't affect her like he could others. "I'm not Kim. And you know I'm not Audrey. They needed you to protect them from your life, but damn it, Jack, you know I don't." She took his now limp hands and took them off of her, adding, "You should know that by now."

His eyes began to shimmer as he stared into her disappointed expression. "I...I don't..." he stammered before Chloe pulled him into a tight embrace.

"It's okay, Jack," she muttered, trying not to roll her eyes at her standard pathetic comforting skills. It wasn't okay, and she knew it.

Unapologetically, he let his tears flow freely into Chloe's shoulder. He couldn't believe what he had just tried to do - it was the furthest thing from what he wanted.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said into her sweater. "Please, don't let me hurt you the way I've hurt them."

She closed her eyes, knowing the "them" he was referring to. She pulled away and looked him square in the eye. "Fine. Here's how you can make sure you don't hurt me: don't push me away anymore. I mean, here I am every single day, telling you over & over that I want to help you, but you just don't get it. You need to get over this protection thing."

"It's not that simple," he replied, sniffing back his tears. "Morris was right, Chloe. I'm barely managing as it is, and if I lost you..."

"First off, I'm not going anywhere, and second, no, Morris wasn't right. I know you blame yourself, but if Audrey and Teri were here, I seriously doubt if they would blame you. You did everything you could for them. I can't imagine them wanting you beat yourself up like this."

He was silent, trying to believe her words. "In China, I accepted that I'd never see her again, but it was okay because she could move on. I could have lived with that," he tearfully recalled.

She responded by pulling him back into her arms, wishing she knew some magic word, anything that would fix him. But she knew time was his only real remedy - along with her presence.

She then walked him to the couch, where he sat as she left to close the still-open door and fetch him a glass of water.

Handing Jack the glass as she sat beside him, he glanced at the clock and felt yet another twinge of guilt. "I should try to go back to sleep now," he said quietly. "I know you have to get to CTU in a few hours."

"It's fine. I'm not tired anymore anyway," she shrugged, lying through her teeth.

"Sorry I lost it," he said as he stared into the glass. "Although to be honest, I'm pretty sure I lost it a while ago."

"Jack, sometimes I wonder if you really understand everything you've been through. You're allowed to lose it. You're allowed to be a mess. I don't know why you'd think anything else is expected of you."

"I don't want to be like this. I don't know how to be like this," he replied.

She shrugged. "We'll figure all of this out eventually," she said, immediately regretting her use of the word "we".

His eyes found hers and almost sparkled a little bit like they used to. "We will?"

"I didn't mean - " she blurted, eyes reverting to the floor.

"It's fine," he quickly assured her, allowing a bit of a smirk to cross his lips. "I know what you meant."

And thus fell silence - the same silence that tended to fall when both of them wanted to say something important but just couldn't form the words. But neither knew quite what it was they wanted to say.

Taking a last sip of the water, Jack finally broke the silence. "I'll see you in the morning," he said as he rose from the couch, forgetting it already was morning.

"Yeah," she muttered, watching him return to his room. Lord, did she want to follow him. He could throw all the guilt-infused fits he wanted - nothing was going to keep her away. 


	6. Chapter 6

chapter six

Chloe wasn't sure what she was doing in Bill's office. He rarely called her there, except for when she'd pissed him off, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence. She tried to think of what she'd done to earn an office sitdown this time as he finished up a call from behind his desk, but she drew a blank. "Take a seat, Chloe," he motioned, finally resting the phone back on its hook.

"What did I do this time?" she asked, easing into the chair opposite his desk.

"Nothing. That's not what this is about," he paused. "How's Jack doing?"

She took a breath, her anxiety level dropping. "How about you call him and find out?"

"Because he'll tell me he's fine even if he's not. In my judgement, you're in a much better position to know what kind of state he's in."

"He's not fine. He's struggling. You would be, too," she replied, growing more annoyed by the second.

"I realize that, Chloe."

She watched him cast his eyes downward and started to wonder why she was even there. "If that's all you wanted to ask me, I've got work to do," she muttered, rising from the chair.

"Chloe."

She scowled and turned. "What."

"Keep up the good work," Bill said quietly.

She paused, unsure if he meant her work with Jack or CTU. "Yeah," she muttered under her breath before heading back down to the floor.

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The ringing of the phone violently awoke Jack from a rare dream-free sleep. Begrudgingly, he slipped off the couch and walked the short distance to the kitchen, where his home phone sat cradled on the wall near the entrance. "Yeah," he answered.

There was a pause on the other end. "Is Chloe there?"

Jack immediatly recognized the accent. "Morris?"

Morris sighed quietly. "Yes, it's me."

"She's at CTU. Where else where would she be noon on a Tuesday?"

"I...I knew that. I called to apologize about my making an ass of myself. Saying it to her, I thought, would be a bit easier."

Jack fell silent, wondering if Morris was calling from rehab.

"But I am sorry. I had no right to dump my problems in your laps. But I've had a hard time dealing with everything that's happened. And I'm used to dumping things on Chloe for her to fix...you know, 'old habits die hard'."

"It's fine, Morris, don't worry about it," Jack replied. This was a very sober Morris, in more ways than one. He wasn't sure how to respond.

Then Jack remembered Morris' words and how they had stayed in his head, making him wonder if, in fact, they were as true as they seemed. "Did you mean what you said about me, how I caused your breakup with her?"

Morris didn't have the energy to lie for Chloe. Besides, it was time Jack was alerted to the obvious. "God, yes. You know, Jack, you're the last person on this earth to realize this about Chloe. Let me enlighten you."

Jack took a deep breath.

"When you were in China, she never dared to speak your name. If she ever heard anyone speak of you, she would pretend she didn't. I knew exactly what that meant. I'd ask her hoe she was dealing with it, and she'd mumble something about being fine and change the subject. She could share everything with me except for anything involving you."

Jack closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He hated the thought of how deeply she had hurt for him.

"Seeing the look on her face when she saw you for the first time at CTU, well, that was the nail in the coffin of our relationship," Morris continued.

Jack recalled the moment, the truth of his words obvious.

"But this is nothing new, Jack. I saw it a long time ago. So did half of bloody CTU. You're truly the last to know."

I'm an idiot, Jack thought to himself. But he wasn't an idiot. He was merely blind.

"I'll tell her you called," Jack said, hanging up the phone before Morris could reply.

He soon found himself back on the couch, wide awake, replaying the memories he & Chloe had created over the years since he first hired her. Out of everyone he'd known in his lifetime - even Audrey, Kim, and Teri - she was the only one who had never let him down. No matter what he threw at her, no matter what insane lengths he'd asked her to go to with him, she had been more than equal to the task each time. He'd never once been able to give her anything in return, and she never asked for anything, either.

But taking her for granted and overlooking her was not a mistake he'd ever make again, he vowed. It was too early for him to quite know what that meant, but he could feel the spark of excitement begin to take root in his mind. Maybe he had a future to look forward to after all. Maybe Chloe was that future. 


	7. Chapter 7

chapter seven

Jack stood outside CTU for the second time in two months, but just as nervously as the first time. He gazed at the building and the vibrant blue sky above it before Chloe gave him a gentle nudge from behind.

"Ready?" she asked, breaking his stare.

"Yeah," he smiled, walking with her into the place where his past, present, & future always seemed to collide.

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Jack's eyes wandered to Chloe below, working at her station, as he sat in Bill's office about 15 minutes later.

"So," Bill muttered, going over a few papers, "your doctors have cleared you for work...including a psychologist, Dr. Jones...?"

"I started seeing her a month ago, twice a week," Jack explained.

Bill paused. "Good. That's great, Jack."

Jack nodded, casting his eyes to the floor. It had been one of the most productive decisions he'd made in long time to finally start therapy. One session was enough to shatter his preconceptions about the practice.

"I'll have to limit your workload for the foreseeable future, but I'm confident about your progress, Jack, I am," Bill replied. "Do you have a preference for a certain department?"

"No, I'll let you make that decision. But I'm not planning on returning to field ops anytime soon."

"I understand. That's not a problem."

"I'm not saying I'll never go back to field work, but for now I'd rather be in intel sharing and analyzing, something...helpful but stable," Jack added.

"OK, you've got it. I'll find a position for you by tomorrow - is that alright?"

Jack nodded, standing up. "Thank you, Bill."

Bill followed him to the door, where the two men shared a firm handshake. "Jack, you truly amaze me. You are by far the strongest person I've ever had the privilege of knowing."

Jack glanced back down to Chloe and replied with the slightest grin, "I've had a lot of help."

"Chloe," Bill guessed.

Jack's eyes remained on her. "I wouldn't be standing here if not for her."

When Jack left and closed the door behind him, Bill smiled and muttered under his breath, "It's about damn time."

-------------------------------------------

Chloe watched Jack slowly descend the staircase to the floor, hoping to God that it had gone better than last time. But as soon as their eyes met, she could tell that she needn't worry. He motioned for her to follow him, which she promptly did, leaving her station mid-task without bothering to log out. She followed him down a nearby corridor to a small, secluded corner near the medical wing.

"How did it go?" she asked, a bit nervous due to her almost secretive surroundings.

"He said he'd find a position for me by tomorrow," Jack replied, showing traces of exhilaration on his face.

"Tomorrow? What kind of position?"

"Intel, behind a desk - don't worry," he replied. "Chloe, I...I'm afraid to say it, but this is the closest I've felt to happy in a long time. I'm actually excited."

She smiled brightly. "God, I'm so glad to hear that. I'm so proud of you."

He paused, then gently took both of her hands in his. "I wouldn't be here without you. I wish I could repay you for everything you've done for me..."

"You don't have to," she quickly interrupted.

"But I want to," he answered firmly. "And I'm going to."

Her skin tingled as he tucked a piece of hair behind her right ear. "God knows I've still got a long way to go," he said softly, "but I don't doubt I can do it as long as I have you. And more than anything, I want to really have you."

Her breaths grew short as she realized that the moment had finally arrived. She couldn't have counted how many times she had dreamed of this moment, only to awake and tell herself it would never happen.

"You're really doing this," she muttered as his face grew ever closer.

"I'm really doing this," he whispered before bringing his lips to hers.

She surrendered and lost herself in his arms, where she quickly found herself at complete ease and confidence. His kiss was hungry, as was hers; both melted seamlessly into one another as time ceased to exist. Air was not necessary - neither took the time to breathe, for this stolen moment could not last.

"Chloe," he managed to whisper between kisses.

"Hmmm."

"You have to get back to work," he continued.

"Screw work," she replied, bringing a smile to his face as they opted to indulge one another for just a few more minutes.

Chloe's cell finally brought an end to the moment. She reluctantly pulled away and flipped the phone open. "What?"

"We need you on the floor, Chloe, where are you?" Milo asked.

"I'm on my way," she scowled before hanging up.

Jack grinned, finding her frustration quite charming. "I have to go, too."

She nodded. "I know."

He pulled her in for one more kiss, followed by these words, which he whispered in her ear: "Don't be late coming home tonight."

She smiled as he walked away, basking in a state of enormously pleasant shock.

-------------------------------------------------

Chloe left CTU the exact second that her shift was over. The short drive home seemed to take hours, though it only took 15 minutes.

She walked through Jack's door to find a mostly dark apartment, save for a small lamp near the couch that Jack was sleeping on. She smiled, moving toward him quietly so as to not wake him.

Chloe knelt in front of the couch so that her face paralleled Jack's, which was cradled on an arm of the couch. With unmitigated glee that she could even do this, Chloe reached with her right hand and brushed her palm against his cheek and softly called his name.

His eyes opened slowly before a smile graced his lips. "Hey."

"Hey," she smiled.

"I can't believe I fell asleep," he chuckled, a planned greeting for Chloe now shot to hell. It was going to be a good one, too.

She took a seat next to him as he sat up from his sleeping position. Jack immediately took her face in his hands and kissed her, showing the same amount of intensity as he had at CTU.

This time Chloe forced herself to break away. "Wait."

"What is it?" he asked, hands falling to her shoulders.

She took in a deep breath. "Are you sure this isn't too soon? I mean, the last thing I want to do is rush into something doomed from the start."

"You mean too soon after Audrey," he replied, to which she nodded. He looked away and tried to piece together in his mind the right thing to say. "Listen," he began, "It's going to hurt for a long time. It won't ever stop, it will only dull with time. And I'll have to work on not feeling guilty, because I do. But I can't live without you anymore. It might be too soon, but I can't help but take that chance."

"Jack, I don't want to cause you to feel anymore guilty than you already do," she replied.

"You don't. I do it to myself, Chloe."

She paused, hoping he really could take that chance. "I want this so badly."

He responded with another kiss, one that said more than any word could have. Chloe very happily shut up as the moment stretched into what must have been many more. He kissed her like no one had before, and it felt better than she'd ever imagined. Suddenly she couldn't remember life before his kiss - how had she gone so long without him?

Taking a breath, Jack took her hand and rose from the couch. "Come on," he motioned.

She trembled slightly in anticipation as he led her to his room, hoping she wouldn't faint like she felt she might. When his door closed from behind her, she found herself alone in a world consisting only of Jack, herself, and the soft glow of the moon through his window. It was a world she could truly call home.

She resented her life's journey no more, for every step had led her here - a place she'd all but given up on long ago. But everything she felt was increased tenfold in Jack. Past, present, & future seemed to matter no more - for that's what they would grow to find in one another. One can ask for little more. 


End file.
